Tharisa’s adaptive wireless mine network: key takeaways for engineers
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan
First reported on International Mining – News
30 Second Briefing
Tharisa Minerals has deployed an advanced adaptive wireless network across its South African open-pit mine in partnership with hybrid ICT integrator Datacentrix, creating what it calls a highly connected, data-driven operation. The Africa-first solution replaces legacy, patchy communications with a mine-wide, high-bandwidth wireless backbone designed to support real-time fleet telemetry, high-resolution condition monitoring and IP-based voice and video. For geotechnical and mining engineers, the infrastructure enables faster dispatch decisions, tighter drill-and-blast control and more reliable data capture from mobile equipment and in-pit monitoring systems.
Technical Brief
- Adaptive wireless design dynamically reallocates bandwidth across Tharisa’s pit as equipment moves and loads vary.
- Datacentrix integrated the network as a single converged layer for OT, IT and security traffic.
- Architecture supports IP-based CCTV and access control, enabling centralised monitoring of high-risk mining areas.
- Wireless backbone is engineered to maintain coverage into deeper pit phases without continual re-cabling.
- Legacy narrowband radio and fragmented Wi-Fi systems were decommissioned and consolidated into the new platform.
- Network design anticipates future integration of autonomous or semi-autonomous mining equipment and drones.
Our Take
Tharisa Minerals’ move into an adaptive wireless solution in South Africa comes as it is also transitioning its Bushveld Complex chrome and PGM operation from open pit to underground, suggesting the network will likely be designed with deeper, more complex underground communications and tracking in mind.
Within our 1198 Mining stories, relatively few South Africa–based pieces focus on mine-wide digital infrastructure, so Tharisa Minerals’ work with Datacentrix stands out as an example of a local operator trying to harden connectivity ahead of a more mechanised underground phase.
Because International Mining appears alongside Tharisa Minerals in both this Datacentrix piece and the underground blast coverage, the project is likely to be watched as a reference case for African mines weighing similar wireless deployments during open-pit-to-underground transitions.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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